This is a comprehensive English class that combines a study of language, composition, oral communication, thinking skills, research, and literature. The literary focus is literature of America, beginning with the early 19th century and progressing to the modern era. The goal is to help students become effective independent thinkers, readers, writers, listeners, viewers, and speakers. Each unit combines appropriate skills in these areas with a specific literary focus. The course begins with a diagnostic writing assignment that will help teachers identify student strengths and weaknesses.

This is a class that will prepare students for the skills they will need to be successful in college and in life. When they have completed the class, students will have acquired the reading and critical thinking skills necessary for understanding challenging new material, analyzing that material to deduce meaning, and applying what they have learned to our world. They will have the composition skills needed to communicate their understanding effectively to a variety of audiences. Students will read and analyze classic works of literature because these works contain literary qualities that merit study and provoke thinking, not because of a requirement to know a particular work or author. They will also look at modern and contemporary works as they examine all genres: plays, short stories, poetry, essays, and novels. Students will learn to apply critical literary terms as tools for learning, understanding, and communication. Learning activities include close reading, paraphrasing, discussions, essays, short answer exams, research papers, reflective journals, web quests, oral presentations, and others. The unit structure below identifies the main headings of the units only. Most units will include a combination of genres and activities. The structure to the class is not based upon a sequence of chronology, national origin, or genres. It is instead based upon the sequence that best supports the learning needs of the student.

This introductory Earth Science course incorporates the body of knowledge and facts accumulated from people’s observations of the Earth around them and the skies above them. This observed information of the earth has evolved over centuries into the branch of science known as earth science. Earth science has several different branches of study: the solid earth (geology); the earth’s waters (hydrology and oceanography); the earth’s atmosphere (meteorology); and the universe beyond earth (astronomy). Using careful observation and experimentation, students will learn to effectively analyze and evaluate the earth’s natural phenomena and their causes, as well as, its relationship in the universe by focusing on the four major areas of study.

The Calculus course is a comprehensive look at the study of differential and integral calculus concepts including limits, derivative and integral computation, linearization, Riemann sums, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, and differential equations. Applications include graph analysis, linear motion, average value, area, volume, and growth and decay models.

Includes topics such as parallel line and planes, congruent triangles, inequalities and quadrilaterals. Various forms of proof are studied. Emphasis is placed upon reasoning and problem solving skills gained through study of similarity, areas, volumes, circles, and coordinate geometry.

This course builds upon the essential skills of arithmetic as they apply to algebra. Real numbers and linear equations, linear inequalities, factoring, fractions, graphing and some elements of geometry are stressed.

American Government is the study of the historical backgrounds, governing principles, and institutions of the government of the United States. The focus is on the principles and beliefs upon which the United States was founded and on the structure, functions, and powers of government at the national, state, and local levels. The principles of popular sovereignty, separation of powers, checks and balances, republicanism, federalism, and individual rights will be examined as will the roles of individuals and groups in the American political system. Students will compare the American system of government with other modern systems and assess the strengths and problems associated with the American system.

This course is designed to provide the student with a basic understanding of American History. He content will focus on the origins of the nation’s democratic principles and continue through present day domestic and foreign issues that affect American society. There will be a particular emphasis on the individuals and groups that have not only been impacted by the nation’s development but those who have made contributions as well. Students will utilize critical thinking and problem solving skills as they participate in interactive discussions, and complete assignments establishing real-world connections.

In this half-credit course, students will use an informative interactive process to explore career and life options that fit their individual interests, needs, and skills. Students begin with a thorough examination of their own interests, aptitudes, achievements, and personality styles. Then, they explore potential career matches, examining job market information, conducting informational interviews, and plotting training and educational paths. Along the way, students learn to craft effective resumes and letters, and to handle job interview situations.

This course is designed as a survey course in personal health. The course will provide the student with information that will enable him or her to live a more productive and healthy life today and in the future. Emphasis will be on making healthy personal decisions and in retrieving the information necessary to make healthy choices.

Marketing allows students to discover customer wants and needs and to gain a solid understanding of creating, advertising, and selling products. This course covers all aspects of marketing from basic economics to employment in the marketing field. Students will learn how marketing affects many aspects of life and how they will benefit from understanding it.

This course will introduce the student to an overview of good nutrition principles that are needed for human physical & mental wellness. Discussion of digestion, basic nutrients, weight management, sports & fitness, and life-span nutrition is included. Application to today's food and eating trends, plus learning to assess for reliable nutrition information is emphasized.

This course focuses on the fundamental components and principles of fitness. The course examines safety guidelines, proper technique, and exercise principles such as the FITT. Students will assess their current level of fitness in relation to the five components of physical fitness: flexibility, cardiovascular health, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and body composition. Students will also learn strategies to help them begin, design, and maintain an exercise program to keep them fit for life.

This course introduces limits, differentiation, and integration of functions. Students will find and evaluate finite and infinite limits graphically, numerically and analytically. They will find derivatives using a variety of methods including: The Chain Rule and Implicit Differentiation. They will use the First Derivative Test and The Second Derivative Test to analyze and sketch functions.

Computer Science A emphasizes object-oriented programming methodology with a concentration on problem solving and algorithm development and is the equivalent of a first-semester college-level course in Computer Science. It also includes the study of data structures, design, and abstraction, but these topics are not covered to the extent that they are in Computer Science AB.

This course is designed to acquaint you with the physical, ecological, social, and political principles of environmental science. The scientific method is used to analyze and understand the interrelationships between humans and the natural environment. The course shows how ecological realities and the material desires of humans often clash, leading environmental degradation and pollution. The course consists of six chapters covering the following topics: Earth’s Systems, Human Population Dynamics, Natural Resources, Environmental Quality, Global Changes, and Environment and Society. Chapters are divided into several subsections, each of which contains text, animations, laboratory simulations and video presentations by experts.

Microeconomics emphasizes how individuals make choices with limited resources. Students will examine concepts such as supply and demand, factors of production, roles of labor and management, the relationship between the environment and the economy, and the impact of the government on individual decision making processes. Students study the stock market as an investment option and trace various stocks through the semester using the Wall Street Journal and the Internet as resources. This course prepares students for the AP Exam in Microeconomics.

This course is a survey of psychology that introduces students to the major topics of the field, the terminology and methodology of psychology, and the historical and current understanding of human behavior and thought-processes. Students learn to analyze human experiences like psychologists do and to apply what they have learned to the world around them. The focus of the course is to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Psychology course administered by the College Board in the spring of each year.

This course is a continuation of the beginning level courses that will help the student continue learning the French language. In this course, the student will learn listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through activities that are based on pedagogically proven methods of foreign language instruction. Throughout the five units of material (Feelings, Transportation, Work, Countries, Future, Health, Home, Measurements, Professions and Personal History), students learn to express themselves using an ever increasing vocabulary, present, past, future and conditional-tense verbs, articles, adjectives and increasingly complex grammatical structures. Grammar is introduced and practiced in innovative and interesting ways with a variety of learning styles in mind. Culture is sprinkled throughout the course in an attempt to help the learner focus on the French speaking world and their culture, people, geographical locations and histories. The course is aligned to the national Foreign Language standards.

German I has been carefully designed to meet the standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). These standards call for a method of teaching that focuses on successful communication through speaking, writing, reading, and listening, as well as a thorough grounding in aspects of culture. Each unit embodies all of these standards in accordance with the theories described in this document. Unit activities blend different forms of communication and culture to ensure that the student meets all standards. Course strategies include warm-up activities, vocabulary study, reading, threaded discussions, multi-media presentations, self-checks, practice activities and games, oral and written assignments, projects, quizzes, and exams. Learning activities in each unit are focused upon a specific theme.

Latin I is an introduction to the basics of Latin grammar. It is intended to help you develop the skills necessary to translate basic sentences from Latin to English and English to Latin, and for reading simple connected passages of Latin prose and poetry. In the first semester, we cover the first 10 chapters of Wheelock’s Latin grammar. In the process, you will learn how verb conjugations and noun declensions work in a highly inflected language, how to analyze the structure of Latin sentences and translate English sentences into well-formed Latin equivalents, and you will begin to read connected excerpts from ancient authors. In the second semester, we cover chapters 11 through 20 of Wheelock’s Latin grammar. In the process, you will learn how verb conjugations and noun declensions work in a highly inflected language, how to analyze the structure of Latin sentences and translate English sentences into well-formed Latin equivalents, and you will begin to read connected excerpts from ancient authors.

This is a beginning level course that will introduce the student to a variety of areas of Mandarin Chinese (simplified). In this course, the student will learn listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through activities that are based on pedagogically proven methods of foreign language instruction. Grammar is introduced and practiced in innovative and interesting ways with a variety of learning styles in mind.

Spanish I has been carefully designed to meet the standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). These standards call for a method of teaching that focuses on successful communication through speaking, writing, reading, and listening, as well as a thorough grounding in aspects of culture. Each unit embodies all of these standards in accordance with the theories described in this document. Unit activities blend different forms of communication and culture to ensure that the student meets all standards. Course strategies include warm-up activities, vocabulary study, reading, threaded discussions, multi-media presentations, self-checks, practice activities and games, oral and written assignments, projects, quizzes, and exams. Learning activities in each unit are focused upon a specific theme.

Spanish III has been carefully designed to meet the standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). These standards call for a method of teaching that focuses on successful communication through speaking, writing, reading, and listening, as well as a thorough grounding in aspects of culture. Each unit embodies all of these standards in accordance with the theories described in this document. Unit activities blend different forms of communication and culture to ensure that the student meets all standards. Course strategies include warm-up activities, vocabulary study, reading, threaded discussions, multi-media presentations, self-checks, practice activities and games, oral and written assignments, projects, quizzes, and exams. Learning activities in each unit are focused upon a specific theme.

In the first part of this introductory-level course, participants learn the basics of C++ programming by completing a series of hands-on projects. Using Visual Studio.NET 2003, participants learn how to write code using variables, functions, expressions, flow control statements, loops and more. In the second part of this course, students build on the skills they learned in the first part. This part of the course introduces arrays, classes and other basic concepts of programming.